POINT-TO-POINT Sharp Suit earns comparison to Harbour

Sharp Suit was compared favour-ably with his Cheltenham Festival hope, Harbour Court, by Aston Rowant trainer Alan Hill after maintaining his unbeaten record between the flags with victory at Kingston Blount.

The seven-year-old had to dig deep for James Tudor to beat Perfectly Willing by a length in the intermediate at Saturday’s meeting.

It was a race his more illustrious stablemate captured last year on his way up the ranks to become a leading fancy for tomorrow’s CGA Foxhunters’ Chase.

Sharp Suit was completing a hat-trick, and Hill said: “At this point this horse is better than Harbour Court, but this horse has run hurdling.

“Today he has done it ugly. He hated the course and I don’t think he really liked the ground.”

Sharp Suit’s victory saw Hill rack up a treble on the card for the second successive year.

Start Royal, who won the men’s open 12 months ago, returned to take the ladies’ open this time with a fluent six-lengths success from Rossmore Lad under Gina Andrews.

Connections were concerned the race may come too quick for the ten-year-old, who had been beaten a neck at Higham six days earlier, but he dispelled those fears to give clerk of the course and part-owner Stewart Nash a popular winner.

He leased ownership of the horse for the day in a bid to win the Bullingdon Cup, presented to the first graduate or current undergraduate of Oxford University.

Tom Kindleyside gave the ten-year-old a patient ride to beat Master Workman by three lengths, and Hill said: “The lease has worked out. I am happy. He is happy and now he’s got the cup on the sideboard.”

Hook Norton rider James Martin won a dramatic first division of the open maiden for six-year-olds and over on 33-1 shot Triggers Ginger after The Mexican Bandit jinked going to the last fence and dumped Oliver Greenall on the take-off side when challenging.

“I think I would have won,” said Martin. “I was full of running even jumping the last.”

The second division went to Aboo Dreamer, a first winner as a trainer for Sarah McQueen, who led up Mon Mome when he won the 2009 Grand National.

Welsh raider Silver Story was a poignant winner of the men’s open for trainer William Vaughan, who was left the 11-year-old grey by Norman Jones, who died last month.

And Toby Betambeau came in for a winning spare ride on Classic Destiny in the restricted after Tom Ellis was left feeling groggy following a fall.

Ipsoregulated

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